Archive for the 'Misc Images' Category
Friday, October 14th, 2011
Rio Grande – 3 Photos
“The Rio Grande is the only river I ever saw that needed irrigation.” — Will Rogers
“I never realized what beauty water added to a river until I saw the Rio Grande.” – Mark Twain
Photos taken October 13, 2011 at Las Cruces.
Tags: Las Cruces, Misc Images
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Robledos and Dona Anas
Every visitor to Las Cruces is struck by the beauty of the Organ Mountains, east of town. But there are numerous other mountain ranges in the area, including the Robledos and the Dona Anas, both north of Las Cruces. The Robledos are on the east side of the Mesilla Valley, the Dona Anas west of the valley.
Neither range are as spectacular as the Organs, and it’s hard to capture their beauty.
Here are two photos of Robledo Mountain taken after a light snow, yesterday. Robledo Mountain is the highest peak in the range, 5890 feet. The mountain was named for Pedro Robledo, who was killed May 21, 1598 and was buried nearby. Pedro Robledo was a lieutenant in Don Juan de Oñate’s colonizing expedition to New Mexico. Pedro Robledo was survived by a wife and five children, and his descendents still live in New Mexico. (Details here.)
If you look east from the Robledos, you can see the Dona Anas. The highest peak in the range is 5835 feet. (Photo taken December 29, 2009.)
Tags: Las Cruces, Misc Images, Snow
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
Visit to Apache Wells
The site known as Apache Wells is located north of Hwy 10, about mid-way between Las Cruces and Deming. About one mile north of Apache Wells is the old route of the Butterfield Overland Stage. The Apache Wells site is marked here:
As a source of water, the site was used by Native Americans and later visitors and settlers.
A scratched stone at the location memorializes the killing of Jon Faulkner in 1894. It is known that this stone is not at its original location, which is presumed to be nearby, so it does not mark an actual grave site. A search of various sources reveals no information about the killing of a Jon (or more likely John) Faulkner in 1894 (anyone know more?).
At the top of the stone is scratched “MAID 29 DE 96,” i. e., made 29 December 1896.
=====
Also at the site are many Petroglyphs. Here are a sampling:
Figure and horse. The horse may have a saddle.
The wide stride and the over-the-shoulder stick with the bag strongly suggests a soldier.
A beautiful Petroglyph, evidently a man cat. Behind it is a much smaller animal, which could be canine or feline:
Here we have a Petroglyph and a modern scratching:
The Petroglyph is made by tapping with a rock, the letters by scratching. You can see the clear difference in making technique here:
A mysterious petroglyph, partially buried:
Also in the area are many grinding (mortar) holes:
These holes were used by to grind various seeds into meal. The longer the period of use, the deeper the hole. One interpretation of the size variation is that different seeds ground better or easier in different sized holes. So many holes together might also be a sign that grinding was often a group activity.
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Dustset at White Sands
Yesterday was a bad day for dust over most of this part of New Mexico. Here’s what sunset looked like at White Sands National Monument:
The sun dropping below the crest of a dune:
Tags: Sunset at White Sands, Misc Images, Weather
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Tower and Flower
Photo taken 9/24/08.
Tags: Las Cruces, Misc Images
